• Chives are the smallest member of the onion family. The part used for culinary dishes is the thin, hollow, tubular leaves that resemble large stalks of grass. Mild in flavor, chives are used in a multitude of dishes, including dips, potatoes, fish and eggs, and is especially prevalent in French cuisine. Chives are also a lovely garnish, whole or chopped.
• Fish sauce is an Asian condiment derived from fermented fish. If that sounds odd, that’s what Worcestershire sauce is; and the ancient Romans’ favorite condiment was a fermented fish sauce called garum.

Different countries have their own ways of preparing the sauce, but anchovies are used most often (in Worcestershire sauce, garum, the nam pla of Thailand and Vietnam, and others); some nations or regions use shellfish (for example, belachan, or shrimp paste, in Malaysia), squid or other small fish.

Chives and fish sauce are used as salad
dressing instead of dipping sauce.
Photo courtesy McCormick.

• Recipe: Try a “Deconstructed” Spring Roll Salad With Pork Hors D’Oeuvres, and taste the fusion of French and Asian cuisine. You can enjoy the chive and fish sauce dressing on many other recipes, too.
• Find more recipes and foods with international flair.

Caliza Syrah will be at the Grand Tasting.
Photo courtesy CalizaWinery.com.

How about Rhones from the U.S.A.? California wineries have found great success planting Syrah, Viognier and other classic Rhone grapes.

The Rhone Rangers will convene in San Francisco on March 27th and 28th for the thirteenth consecutive year. It’s the largest American Rhone wine event in the country.

• The Rhone romp begins Saturday, March 27th with seminars such as Pairing Good with American Rhones, Grenache and Ageability of American Rhones.
• On Saturday evening, fifteen wineries will participate in a winemaker dinner at the Log Cabin in the San Francisco Presidio. The dinner will be followed by a live auction of 15 lots of wine, unique wine country experiences and travel packages, donated by the host winemakers. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Rhone Rangers Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to winemakers.

And then, there’s the opportunity to taste as many of the wines as your tolerance will allow.

• On Sunday, March 28th, more than 100 Rhone Rangers member wineries will present 500 of the best American Rhone wine at the Grand Tasting. In addition to the wines, attendees can sample gourmet foods from more than 35 specialty food purveyors—cheese, bread, olive oil, charcuterie, fruits and chocolates. A silent auction will feature wines from Rhone Rangers member wineries and will benefit Meals on Wheels of San Francisco.This is no intimate gathering: The organizers expects 2,000 consumers and members of the trade.

  For more information and tickets, visit RhoneRangers.org.

Indulge Caramels, an artisan endeavor in Portland, Oregon, has made a specialty of flavored caramels—currently nine varieties plus a chocolate-dipped option for every flavor. They’re worth taking note of, and are so affordable that they can be enjoyed as a daily indulgence—just one is quite satisfying. They’re delicious with coffee or tea, and are a gluten-free food.

Making caramels that won’t crystallize requires practice. The recipe is deceptively simple when you look at the ingredients: just sugar, cream, butter and flavoring (vanilla, coffee, sea salt, etc.), along with corn syrup to prevent crystallization.

Follow this recipe and you get a soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth caramel. Scrimp on the recipe—substitute margarine or oil for the butter, for example—and the product changes.

Mass marketed products only approximate what a real caramel is. Your eyes will widen when you see the ingredients lists of two top products in the full review.

They may also widen when you pop the first Indulge Caramel into your mouth. These small indulgences are so affordable that you can try all the different flavors.

Indulge caramels are made in 9 flavors;
all can be had chocolate-dipped, as well.
Photo by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE.

• Find more of our favorite caramels in our Gourmet Candy Section.
• Take our Caramel Trivia Quiz.

Peanut butter cake with malted PB ice cream….and some caramelized peanuts, candied bacon and white beer foam. You can do it! Photo courtesy PB&+Co.

That’s what Peanut Butter & Company did. Celebrate National Peanut Month by making one (or all) of these award-winning peanut butter desserts:

• Like panna cotta? Try Peanut Butter Panna Cotta With Caramel Mousse.
• If you like to make ravioli, try this Toasted Peanut Butter & Jelly Ravioli With Cinnamon Ice Cream. We’re proud that the creator, Marissa Goldberg was a student at the Institute for Culinary Education and an intern at THE NIBBLE at the time she developed the recipe.
• Like to create complex masterpieces? Try this Peanut Butter Milk Confit Cake with Molasses, Malted Peanut Ice Cream, Maple Candied Bacon & White Beer Foam.

• Caraway seeds are actually a fruit, not a seed. The caraway plant looks similar to a carrot plant, with feathery leaves and thread-like divisions. The “seeds” are small, crescent-shaped achenes (an achene is a one-seeded fruit; the seed has a thin wall, such as a sunflower seed). Caraway seeds have a licorice-like flavor and are frequently used in rye breads, crackers, cheeses and liqueurs. (We love to mix them into sauerkraut, too.)
• “Bitter greens” refers to a variety of dark green, leafy vegetables, including spinach, collards, chard and kale. The name “bitter greens” is no misnomer. When cooked, these veggies have a distinctive (and desirable) bitter flavor that juxtaposes well against other strong flavors. Examples include collards cooked with bacon or spinach salad topped with a sweet lemon poppyseed dressing.

No humdrum greens: an exciting grilled
salad with blue cheese. Photo courtesy McCormick.com.